The color of Courage
by holy monkey
Summary: Summary: What makes a good ranger? Every one has a different characteristic that makes them unique. 1st in the Pris series: Ashley.


Color of Courage  
  
Summary: What makes a good ranger? Every one has a different characteristic that makes them unique. 1st in the Pris series: Ashley.  
  
"Come on Teej! We're going to be late." Cassie yelled as she, Zhane, Karone, and Andros stood waiting on the bridge for the blue ranger.  
  
"I'm coming." He called back to her and within a minute TJ had joined the rest of the group. "We're not going to be late you know Cass." TJ reminded her.  
  
"I know, but I want to get good seats, especially since its Zhane, Karone, and Andros's first Angel Grove soccer game." Cassie enthused. The five teens teleported and made their way to the park where the game was to be held.  
  
"There's Ashley!" Andros noticed happily, glancing down the field to see his girlfriend warming up with the rest of the cheerleaders.  
  
"Come on lover boy!" Zhane teased, dragging his best friend along with him and the others into the bleachers. Blushing, Andros quickly followed Zhane into the stands to sit next to Cassie, Karone, and TJ.  
  
"So what do cheerleaders do exactly?" Zhane asked innocently as he sat down between Cassie and Andros. Cassie and TJ looked at each other as if to say, why did we have to be the ones to have to explain everything to hem?  
  
Sighing, TJ answered the Kerovian. "Cheerleaders lead the fans to cheer for their team on the field. They dance and do stunts, it's quite exciting." Hoping his answer was vague enough, TJ quickly yelled out, "There's Carlos!" pointing to the Hispanic teenager taking shots on goal before the game.  
  
"Wow! He's really good!" Zhane exclaimed.  
  
"He's the captain of the soccer team." Cassie announced proudly.  
  
"What's a captain?" Andros wondered curiously as he watched the team warm up.  
  
"A captain is the team leader, like you are for our team. Carlos is the captain of the soccer team, and Ashley is the captain of the cheerleading squad." Cassie explained to the three aliens. Before they could ask any more questions though, the game began. Soon, Andros, Karone, and Zhane were cheering as loudly as Cassie, TJ, and the rest of the fans.  
  
However, Andros was more distracted by Ashley cheerleading, a fact which amused Zhane greatly. "Now I know why everyone comes to these games. They're not soccer fans, they're cheerleading fans." Zhane said knowledgably with a large grin on his face, taking notice of Andros's discomfort.  
  
Andros turned and gave him a look to shut him up. A spark of jealousy flared through the red ranger as he wondered if other guys were checking out Ashley. Zhane sensed he had upset his best friend and tried to reassure him. "Like she would even look at anyone else Andros."  
  
"I know, I just don't like everyone else looking at my girlfriend." Andros replied with a small smile.  
  
"Believe me, I know." Zhane cracked, referring back to the time Andros thought he had been flirting with Ashley. IT all turned out for the best as Zhane's presence had actually inspired Andros to ask her out. Andros simply smacked Zhane's arm in response.  
  
The cheerleaders then took the field to perform during half time. Ashley stood at the front of the group, and led the team in a complicated and precise dance. As Ashley was finishing up the routine with a roundoff- backhandspring, she landed in a small hole, twisting her ankle. Ever the professional, she stuck the landing, and ignored the searing pain that ripped through her ankle and up her leg. She ran off the field with her teammates, refusing to let the tears fall. The second half of the game then started and Ashley lost herself in the excitement of the game. Carlos scored the winning goal with two minutes left in the game and was carried off the field to celebrate. The other cheerleaders and soccer layers all left to go to the Pizza Barn to celebrate their victory, and all the fans had left quickly to avoid as much traffic as possible. Carlos grabbed his bag and joined his friends in the stands.  
  
"Great game, Carlos. That was some goal." TJ congratulated him, slapping him on the back as Cassie came up to give him a hug "Yeah Carlos, that was amazing."  
  
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat." Carlos declared as his stomach growled in agreement. TJ and Zhane laughed, but Karone asked, "Where's Ashley?" in her gentle voice.  
  
"She's still on the field. I'll go get her." Cassie said, running down the bleachers to get her best friend as the others slowly made their way to the field.  
  
Ashley sat on the grass, stretching her legs so she wouldn't be too sore later. The pain in her ankle had increased, and she worried about putting pressure on it. She didn't want the others to know she hurt herself. Rubbing her ankle, she allowed the much-needed tears to fall as the pain threatened to overwhelm her. Hearing footsteps behind her, she wiped the tears away and resumed stretching.  
  
"Hey Ash! Carlos is hungry. Are you ready to go?" The pink ranger questioned the brown haired cheerleader anxiously.  
  
Ashley turned to face Cassie and saw the rest of their friend waiting by the bleachers. Putting on a smile, Ashley pushed herself up from the grass. "Sure Cass." She chirped. But as soon as she stepped on her ankle, the smile disappeared and Ashley crumpled to the ground in tremendous pain.  
  
"Ashley?" Cassie whispered scared as the yellow ranger lay on the ground holding her left ankle. Shaking of her fear, she turned to their friends. "Andros! Ashley's hurt!" she yelled and quickly knelt down by her friend to comfort her.  
  
Andros heard Cassie yell, "Ashley's hurt" and raced towards the two girls. Seeing the distraught look on his girlfriend's face, he asked her tenderly, "What happened? What hurts Ash?" By then the others had reached Ashley's side.  
  
"I twisted my ankle doing a stupid back handspring." She said upset with herself for being so dumb, and refused to look at anyone, even Andros.  
  
"It's not your fault Ashley. There were lots of holes out there on the field. You didn't know." Carlos said to reassure her, and forcing her to look at him. Nobody said anything for a minute before Ashley spoke again.  
  
"IT really hurts Andros." She said quietly as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her admission startled Andros into action. "I'm going to take you back to the mega ship and get it checked out. You guys go eat and celebrate." Andros insisted, not wanting to break up the celebration.  
  
"No, we'll come too Andros." Carlos said speaking for everyone else who just nodded their heads in agreement. Not willing to argue, Andros scooped Ashley into his arms and the group teleported back to the ship and directly into the medical bay.  
  
"Well Alpha?" Ashley demanded impatiently as she sat on one of the patient beds with her ankle propped up on a pillow. Andros sat next to her on the bed holding her hand.  
  
"It's a pretty bad sprain Ashley. There might be some ligament damage." Alpha reported as he looked over the scanner. Carlos peeked over the robot's shoulder to read the scanner and exclaimed, "I can't believe you finished the rest of the game Ashley."  
  
"How could you do it? Didn't it hurt?" TJ asked in amazement.  
  
"My team needed me." She answered simply as she lay back on the bed as the painkillers started to kick in.  
  
"That was brave of you." Karone told her friend. "Thanks Karone." Ashley replied as her eyes began to flutter close and her body relaxed.  
  
"Alright you guys should leave. Ashley needs her rest." Andros said, pushing the other rangers out of the medical bay. "That was a brave thing to do Ash, but next time tell somebody when you're hurt. You might have been injured worse." He admonished her softly. Ashley grabbed Andros's hand when she saw the look of worry on his face. "I will Andros." He gave her a look of disbelief. She sighed. "I promise." "Good, I don't want to lose you." Andros sat back in the chair next to her bed and slept by her side through out the night.  
  
"I'm glad I decided to come to school today." Ashley mumbled sarcastically to herself as her books fell out of her locker. Sighing, she leaned her crutches against the wall and bent down to get her books. "What a way to start the day", she thought. A few hours later she was relieved when school was finally over. She teleported to the park and waited for Andros. He told her he would meet her there after school. "At least the whole day isn't wasted." Ashley said with a smile, as she thought about her boyfriend. Sitting on the bench, Ashley hadn't realized how tired she'd been from using her crutches all day. Her eyes closed as she lay down on the bench.  
  
"Hey sweetheart. Wake up." Andros whispered in her ear as he placed a kiss on Ashley's forehead. Her hazel eyes fluttered open as she looked up into Andros's face. Stretching her arms, a smile spread across her face as she woke up. "Hey you. Have you been here long?" she asked as she sat up to allow room for Andros to sit. " A few minutes. You looked so peaceful, I hated to wake you up." He replied, putting his arm around her.  
  
"Where's everyone else?" Ashley asked, looking around for the rest of their friends. "What? I'm not good enough anymore?" He teased, standing up to move away from her. Ashley laughed and grabbed his arm to keep him close. "Silly Andros." Pulling him back down beside her. "I love you just the way you are." She replied, leaning in to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her to draw her closer, and pressed his lips to hers for another kiss.  
  
"Hey guys! I can see you missed us." Zhane quipped as Andros and Ashley separated themselves.  
  
"Are we going to play basketball or what?" TJ complained as he dribbled the ball through his legs. Cassie's response was to steal the ball form the confident blue ranger and passed it to Carlos.  
  
"So what are the teams?" Carlos questioned impatiently. "How about Karone, Carlos, and me versus Andros, Zhane, and Cassie." TJ responded quickly, eager to play.  
  
"You're going to cheer for my team aren't you?" Andros asked Ashley as the others warmed up on the basketball court. "Sure thing. Knock em dead!" Ashley said with a smile. Andros gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ran to join the others on the court. As the game got under way, Ashley reached for her journal, not noticing when a bunch of quantrons teleported to the basketball court.  
  
Andros didn't even hesitate; he immediately dropped into his defensive fighting stance and began attacking the dumb witted quantrons. As they began fighting, no one noticed when some quantrons slipped away to attack a defenseless Ashley.  
  
Footsteps alerted Ashley and as she looked up she was shocked to see some quantrons headed her way. A quick glance to the court revealed the others fighting quantrons as well.  
  
She jumped off the bench, swinging one crutch in a circle Ashley knocked down three quantrons. She started to tire as another quantron kicked her in the side. Adrenaline rushed through her body as she threw one of the quantrons over her shoulder and shoved another one into a tree.  
  
Andros threw the last quantron to the side and watched them disappear. Slapping five with the other rangers he celebrated their victory. As he hugged Karone, he saw a sight that made his blood run cold. "ASHLEY!" He screamed at the top of his lungs as he broke away from his sister and ran towards the yellow ranger. The others turned to see what Andros had seen: a bunch of quantrons taking on an injured Ashley and followed right behind the red ranger.  
  
Hearing Andros scream distracted Ashley as her legs were taken out from under her as she landed on the ground with a painful thud. Grimacing, Ashley pulled herself up to her feet and braced herself for another attack. Jumping high in the air, Ashley kicked the quantron away and with a strong right hook knocked down another.  
  
Turning around, she spotted the other rangers and breathed a sigh of relief. Cassie and Karone ran over to her and escorted her away from the quantrons, and allowed the boys to battle the quantrons. The four male rangers quickly defeated the quantrons and went over to Ashley, Cassie, and Karone.  
  
"Are you alright Ash?" Andros asked breathlessly as he dropped to the ground beside her. "I'm fine Andros. Let's get out of here." She said quietly.  
  
"Good idea Ash. Back to the mega ship." Zhane commanded and everyone else teleported back to the ship as Andros stood up to help Ashley up and then in a sparkle of crimson and gold the two were gone.  
  
Upon reaching the bridge, the team gathered to discuss the recent attack. "That was such a random attack. What was the purpose?" TJ wondered aloud. No one seemed to have an answer until Ashley replied.  
  
"What if the attack was meant for me?" Everyone looked at her in confusion. "I mean maybe they thought they could defeat me since they knew I was injured and by myself." Ashley finished thoughtfully.  
  
A look of guilt crossed over Andros's face. "I shouldn't have left you by yourself." He mumbled as he drew Ashley close besides him to wrap his arms around her. Leaning back into him Ashley said, "It's not your fault Andros."  
  
Zhane was pensive as many questions flooded his mind. "Karone?" he questioned. "Is it possible for Dark Spectre to know us, any of us that well?" He asked the former queen of evil.  
  
"Sure it's possible Zhane. I mean it was our job to know your weaknesses. I wouldn't put that attack past them. You'd be surprised at what I know about all of you." Karone added mischievously.  
  
"Like what?" Andros dared his sister to spill some of her secrets. "Like what you and Ashley were really doing when."  
  
"Never mind!" Andros shouted, cutting her off. "What? We really want to know Andros." Zhane said laughing as his best friend blushed. He also noticed Ashley was quiet as well.  
  
"It's gonna take a lot more than some dumb quantrons to defeat you Ash." Carlos commented, changing the subject, and getting a grateful look from Andros.  
  
"That's for sure. Morphed or not, injured or not, you are one tough ranger." TJ added in praise of the yellow ranger. Ashley smiled at their compliments and suggested, "Let's go eat." There was no argument from the rest of them as they were all hungry after fighting off the quantrons.  
  
A few days later. The rangers were aboard the Mega ship when Decca summoned them to the bridge. Ashley's ankle was much better, she didn't need the crutches anymore, but she still walked with a limp and had some pain. Andros saw her enter after the others and went to help her down the ramp. Relieved, Ashley let Andros put his arm around her and guide her to the others.  
  
"Rangers. The princess of Eltare has been kidnapped. She was last seen on the planet Phoenix. You must go there at once." Deca stated in her steady tone of voice.  
  
"Right, let's go guys. Let's Rocket!" Andros commanded, and the other six teens followed suit teleporting to Phoenix in seven bursts of light.  
  
"Now what?" Cassie declared, exasperated looking around at the beautiful planet they found themselves on.  
  
"Ah, Rangers. I knew you would come." Snarled Darkonda. "But you're not going to find the princess. I'll make sure of that. Quantrons attack!" He commanded before disappearing as fast he had appeared.  
  
"Don't these guys have better things to do?" complained Ashley as she positioned herself between Andros and Carlos.  
  
"Apparently not." Carlos agreed. "But you better watch your back Ash, they might still think you're the weak link." He kidded her as he kicked two quantrons away.  
  
"I'll show you who's the weak link Carlos." Ashley teased the black ranger as she fought off the quantrons in front of her, kicking out their legs as they landed on the ground with a thud. The quantrons were quickly defeated as usual, and the seven rangers began their quest through the thick forest of Phoenix.  
  
"Wow. This planet is incredible." Sighed Karone, as she took in the beautiful scenery around them. "I think you're pretty incredible too." Zhane whispered in her ear, sneaking up behind her as the rest of the team continued on ahead of them. He took a minute just to wrap his arms around her waist and was rewarded as Karone leaned back with a contented sigh. "Too bad we're here on a mission." She admitted. Zhane didn't respond with words, instead he turned his girlfriend around to indulge in a quick kiss before catching up with the others.  
  
"How's your ankle Ash?" Carlos asked the yellow ranger in concern. Ashley paused before answering, "It's ok." She replied slowly, not willing to admit to the throbbing pain flowing through her leg.  
  
"Really?" Andros asked, joining their conversation. He turned a tender look in Ashley's direction, and one look at her face told him she wasn't doing as well as she pretended to be. Taking her arm, he guided her to a secluded rock and sat her down. He sat down as well, facing her and took her hands in his. "You don't have to do this you know. If you need to rest, we'll rest. You don't have to prove anything to us Ash." He promised her comfortingly, placing a kiss gently on her lips.  
  
A lone tear streaked down the yellow ranger's face. "I know Andros." She said looking in his eyes. "I don't want to hold us up. We need to find the princess. I'm doing it for her." She stated purposefully.  
  
"Come here." Andros demanded quietly, pulling her into his lap. "You're really something you know that?" He said with a look of awe on his face as he gazed at her.  
  
"You're not too bad yourself." She responded, trying to keep the moment light. "I suppose we should get back to the others." She said glumly.  
  
"Hey, that's supposed to be my line." Andros teased and was delighted to see Ashley smile brightly at him. "Yeah, well I suppose you're rubbing off on me." She admitted with a giggle, as he pulled her gently to her feet and wrapped his arm around her to support her as they walked back to the others.  
  
"Ash?" Andros asked tentatively. Ashley turned to look at him. "What Andros?" She inquired.  
  
"Uh, after we get back, how about we do something just the two of us. I just remembered how much I like spending time with you alone." Ashley's response was to flash a brilliant smile at him and threw her arms around him.  
  
"Is that a yes?" He laughed as he held her in his arms. She looked at him and replied, "Yes." He bent down to kiss her one last time before joining the others.  
  
"Its about time you guys came back." Zhane chirped as Andros and Ashley approached. "He was about to send out a search party for the two of you." Cassie teased as Andros helped Ashley to a sitting position on a log.  
  
"We weren't' gone very long." Grumbled Andros. "What were you two doing over there?" Zhane asked with a mischievous look in his eye. "What were you doing with my sister a few minutes ago?" Andros retorted causing the silver ranger to go speechless and his sister to blush. Neither of them thought anyone had noticed.  
  
"Alright back to business." TJ scolded them. "Here's the plan, Andros, Ashley, and Carlos are going to go down the left trail, Cassie and I will take the midddle trail, and Karone and Zhane will go down the right trail." HE instructed the other rangers.  
  
"Good idea TJ. But I think Ashley should stay here and keep a look out for the princess or Darkonda." Andros suggested firmly. TJ shrugged his shoulders, "Fine, let's go. Meet back here in an hour."  
  
"Be careful." Ashley told Andros as she gave her a hug. "You too." He advised her. "I could go with you, you know." Complained Ashley good- naturedly. "I know Ash. But someone should keep guard and it might as well be you. I'll see you in a little while." He bent down to give her tender kiss o her lips before joining up with Carlos.  
  
Ashley sat back down on the log to keep watch. "Stupid ankle." She murmured as she propped it up to rest it as much as possible. "I hate not being able to help." She complained as she looked about for the princess or Darkonda.  
  
Carlos looked over at Andros who appeared to be deep in thought. "Wanna talk about it?" "About what?" Andros replied confused as he concentrated on the trail. Sighing Carlos explained further. "About whatever is bothering you Andros." When Andros just stared at him, Carlos continued. "She's going to be fine Andros."  
  
"I know Carlos." Andros paused, debating how much to tell Carlos, since he had known Ashley the longest. "It's just, I just don't want her to be hurt. I once thought that I could live by myself and now I know I can't and I don't want to."  
  
"Do you love her?" Carlos questioned seriously. "I do. I really do." Andros replied with a smile. "Have you told her?" Andros's silence confirmed Carlos's suspicions. "You should tell her." Carlos stated. "I know." Andros said quietly as his thoughts wandered off to the beautiful yellow ranger and how she had captured his heart so quickly and so completely.  
  
Meanwhile, a pale green mist drifted through the trees and unto the path. "Can we stop for a minute Andros? I'm feeling really tired all of a sudden." Carlos said as he dropped exhausted onto a log. "Yeah me too." Andros admitted. The two sat for an f minute before their eyes closed and they fell into a deep slumber. From behind a large rock, two quantrons jumped out and carried the two rangers away.  
  
"Too bad we don't have time to explore this planet. This place is great." Cassie declared cheerfully. TJ agreed. "It sure is. Maybe some other day when we aren't' saving someone."  
  
"When would that be Teej?" Cassie asked incredulously. "Next year perhaps?" She teased the blue ranger.  
  
"Yeah well, "he started but then stopped speaking suddenly and turned to look behind them. "Did you hear that Cassie?' he asked looking around but not seeing anything.  
  
"I didn't hear anything. Come on we've got a long way to go still. "She insisted, pulling TJ away and down the trail. Two quantrons huddled behind a tree waiting till they were gone. One sprayed a light green mist that caught up with Cassie and TJ further down the trail. Cassie stopped to catch her breath.  
  
"Are you ok?" TJ asked concerned. "Yeah, I'm just a bit winded that's all." The pink ranger stated breathlessly. "Now that you mention it, I could use a rest as well." He replied taking a seat on a rock.  
  
"That was strange. I felt good a few minutes ago and now I feel exhausted." He complained. Before Cassie could answer, she fell asleep and TJ followed a minute later. Two more quantrons converged on the two sleeping rangers and carried them away.  
  
"I hope everyone is having more luck than us." Zhane confessed to the purple ranger. "It's a big planet Zhane. We'll just keeping looking until we find the princess." Karone said optimistically as she took off down the trail leaving Zhane behind. Stopping suddenly, Zhane almost ran into her. "What is it Karone? Why did you stop?" he asked.  
  
"Shh, I thought I saw a quantron."She whispered. Just then Zhane also saw a flash of silver. "You're right Karone. Come on let's get those tin bins." He said, grabbing her hand and chasing after the quantrons. Zhane attacked him from behind and the quantron dropped the vial of potion, releasing the pale green mist from the bottle. Then the other quantron appeared and grabbed Karone, who fought back as Zhane battled the first quantron. Soon Karone was losing her battle and yelled, "Zhane!" frantically as her strength began to run out. Zhane too was a bit weary but managed to pull Karone away from the quantrons and she collapsed in his arms. The extra weight dropped Zhane to his knees and he too fell asleep. The quantrons collected the last two rangers and tossed them in a cage with the other sleeping rangers.  
  
"Alright, it's been over an hour. Where are they?" Ashley demanded to herself. "Maybe I should call them." She decided against that in case they were in trouble, if she got caught too, there would be no one to rescue them. Just then she looked across the way, over the river and saw two guards and the princess. "The princess." She whispered. "I've got to go to her. But I've got to find the others." She debated about which course of action to take, and then contacted Alpha.  
  
"Alpha, can you give me the locations of the other rangers? They should have been back by now. "Ashley asked worried about her teammates.  
  
"They are in a cave at the bottom of the hill. They don't appear to be moving." Alpha reported. "Ai, Ai, Ai." He cried.  
  
"Don't worry Alpha. I'll get to them and then you can teleport them out." Ashley said to reassure the robot.  
  
"Good luck Ashley." He wished to the yellow ranger. "Let's Rocket!" she called out and soon was enveloped in her yellow ranger suit.  
  
"Did you get them all?" Darkonda demanded of the quantrons. They all nodded. "Good, now it's time to get rid of this annoying princess."  
  
Ashley headed down the hill as quietly as possible. She didn't see any guards or quantrons around. A fearful thought struck her. "They couldn't be dead, could they? NO! I will not believe that. Come on Ashley. Just go in there. They need you." She forced herself into the cave afraid of what she might see. Taking a deep breath, she glanced around the cave and finally found a cage in the back. Running up to it, she blasted open the lock and found her six friends on the floor. Getting close to them she could see them breathing. Relieved she contacted Alpha. "I've found them Alpha. They're ok. They're only sleeping."  
  
"Thank Goodness." Replied the robot. "But their morphers aren't functioning. I won't be able to teleport them." Alpha confessed sadly.  
  
"What about their homing devices?" Ashley inquired. "I can only do one at a time that way." Alpha declared. "We don't have the time." Ashley agreed, thinking about the princess.  
  
"I've got an idea." Ashley said. "POWER DOWN!" she declared softly, returning to her human form. She took off her morpher and put it on Andros's right arm. "Alright Alpha. Teleport them back to the mega ship. Andros had my morpher on."  
  
"Good job Ashley." Alpha complimented her. "But what about you?" he wondered anxiously. "I've got to go get the princess. As soon as she is safe, teleport me back with my homing device." Ashley supplied helpfully.  
  
"I hope the others don't hurt me for leaving you there." Alpha commented. Ashley sighed, "Don't worry Alpha. There's no other way. Andros will understand."  
  
"Ok, teleporting now." Alpha said and a large ray of gold rose up from the ground and the six sleeping rangers were teleported back to the bridge. Alpha turned away from the consoled to find the six teens in a heap on the bridge.  
  
"Did we do the right thing Deca?" Alpha quizzed the ships computer. "Alpha, you did what had to be done. And Ashley too. She's going to be fine." Deca reassured the robot. "I wish the others wake up soon." Alpha said in dismay as he gazed upon the still teens.  
  
"Ok, now to find the princess." Ashley said as she began hiking, ignoring the searing pain in her ankle. Ashley soon found herself on the edge of a ravine looking down into a rapidly moving river. For a moment Ashley was transported back 8 years ago.  
  
"No Jeff! Stop it! This isn't funny." Ten-year-old Ashley Hammond yelled from her precarious position in the canoe.  
  
"Relax Ashley!" We're just fooling around. Stop being such a baby." Her brother jeered from his canoe as he continued to splash her, causing her boat to rock back and forth.  
  
"Jeff, you know I can't swim." Ashley shrieked. Suddenly her oar was knocked out of her hands and as she bent over to retrieve it, she was tossed from her canoe into the cold lake and plunged under the dark water.  
  
"Ok Ashley. That was eight years ago! You couldn't swim then, but you can swim now. And the princess needs you." The yellow ranger scolded herself, forcing herself to look over the edge once more.  
  
Loud groans alerted Alpha to the waking rangers. Andros and Carlos groaned as they rolled out from under the other rangers. "Thank goodness rangers, you're alright." The robot chirped as he scooted over to the pile of teenagers sprawled across the bridge.  
  
"What happened Alpha?" TJ wondered as he realized they were no longer on the planet. HE pushed himself up and helped Cassie up and they joined Andros and Zhane at the controls.  
  
"How did we get back here?" Karone asked curious, as she realized their morphers weren't working. Andros looked down at his own morpher and saw a yellow one on his wrist as well. "Ashley." He whispered in shock.  
  
"You are correct Andros." Deca replied. "She put her morpher on you to transport you out of there quicker." "So where is she?" Zhane asked, looking around but not seeing the yellow ranger.  
  
Darkonda spotted Ashley on the other side of the ravine. Shouting at the quantrons, "I thought you said you captured all the rangers." Without waiting for a response he continued, "If you want the princess, little ranger, go get her!" He yelled across the vast space between him and Ashley. Darkonda then pushed the princess over the edge and into the churling waters below.  
  
Ashley groaned to herself, "I hate water!" she complained. "But the princess needs me." She convinced herself. With no more hesitation, she took a few steps behind and leapt off the cliff and plunged into the cold water below.  
  
Just as she jumped an ear splitting scream came from the back of the bridge. Turning the rangers saw Carlos collapse to his knees as he screamed, "Ashley! NO!" A look of pain was on his face and the others turned back to see Ashley land in the water. They held their breath as they waited for her to surface. Andros and Cassie kept watch on Ashley as TJ and Zhane went to console Carlos, not understanding what was going on in the black ranger's mind. As he saw Ashley jump off the cliff, he was reminded of an incident that happened years ago.  
  
"CARLOS!" Ashley screamed to the Hispanic boy across form her in the canoe as she was tossed into the lake. Carlos leaned over to grab her hand but the current pulled her away from him. "Ashley! Hang on!" He shouted as the ten-year-old boy struggled to paddle the canoe to the helpless girl.  
  
Carlos continued to writhe on the floor giving TJ and Zhane cause for alarm. "Maybe we should sedate him?" TJ asked the silver ranger as he tried to restrain the black ranger from injuring himself.  
  
"I think so. He doesn't know where he is TJ. We need him to relax." Zhane said, concern etched on his face. "Alpha, teleport us to the medical bay." He commanded. In an instant the three rangers were gone. They laid Carlos on a patient bed and TJ administered the sedative. Finally Carlos seemed to relax, and a peaceful look replaced the horrified expression that he had worn the past few minutes. TJ and Zhane went back to the bridge.  
  
"What was that all bout?" Cassie questioned them. "I don't know Cass. It was the weirdest thing." TJ commented, shaking his head as he headed back to his station. "Maybe something happened while he was unconscious", suggested Karone.  
  
Andros remained oblivious to the conversations around him. He was focused on Ashley's predicament and getting her back safely.  
  
Ashley muffled a scream as she was slammed against a rock, knocking her left shoulder out of its socket and she went under the surface. Forcing herself up, despite the pain, she began swimming hard to stay afloat. "Where's the princess?" she asked worried. Blinking water out of her eyes, she saw a tiny figure floating ahead of her. Adrenaline rushed through her as the cold water numbed her and Ashley paddled furiously to catch up. In no time at all, Ashley reached the tiny girl's side and was relieved to find her still breathing. Wrapping her good arm around her, Ashley began kicking her legs violently in an attempt to propel them both to the shore. A wave crashed over the two girls but Ashley ignored the pain in her arm to keep the princess from floating away. "How much longer?" she wondered as she continued to be battered and bruised by the rocks and water, Ashley put herself between Ayanna and a sharp rock, groaning when the sharp rock dug into her back, shredding her shirt and causing her to lose more blood. Ashley was almost unconscious when she saw a man on the shore, waving anxiously to them. Forcing away the darkness, she pushed her way to the shore, disregarding all her pain and fears.  
  
"Is she ok?" The man yelled to Ashley. Ashley nodded as she lifted Ayanna up for the man to grab. He carefully extracted the little girl form her arms and placed her on the shore. "Thank God." He replied. "Give me your hand." The man insisted bending down, but as Ashley reached over with her good arm, her broken left arm could no longer hold onto the rock and she was pushed down stream towards the waterfall.  
  
"This is it." Ashley thought as she felt her eyes closing and her energy gone. "At least I went down with a fight. And the princess is safe." Satisfied Ashley stopped fighting, allowing the pain to finally catch up with her. "I love you Andros", was her last thought as she disappeared under the dark, cold water.  
  
"NO! ASHLEY!" Andros yelled as he watched her go under and not reappear. "Alpha, transport her now!" he commanded the robot. "Right away Andros." Alpha replied, locking unto her homing device and teleported her to the bridge. Gold sparkles announced her arrival and Andros raced to her prone form and rushed her to the medical bay. He placed her on the second patient bed and waited helplessly as Cassie scanned her body.  
  
"We need to get her body temperature up. It's at 96 degrees. She's in shock." Cassie declared placing the heating blanket over her body. "After her temperature rises, we can attend to her other injuries." Cassie announced.  
  
"What about the pain?" Andros asked her, looking up as she held Ashley's cold, limp hand in his warm one, love shining in his eyes as she stared at the yellow ranger.  
  
"We can sedate her like we did Carlos." Zhane suggested, as eh put his hand on Andros's arm to comfort him. TJ administered the sedative to Ashley and then escorted the other rangers to the Cargo bay to eat.  
  
"Why Ash?" Andros questioned silently as he gazed upon his girlfriends still, pale form lying in front of him.  
  
"It was her duty Andros. The princess needed her." Deca replied to the anxious red ranger. "I know. I just hope she's ok." He said dully, allowing the tears to fall.  
  
"She will be fine, Andros." Karone stated as she entered the room and settled next to her brother. "She's a fighter. Give her some time. Now, come and eat with us, so you can be here when she wakes up." Andros debated for a moment before standing up to follow his sister out of the med bay.  
  
"How could she just jump over the cliff?" Cassie asked incredulously. "It's common knowledge that Ashley hates the water." She stated as she removed her food from the synthetron and joined the others at the table.  
  
"Are you kidding?" Zhane exclaimed, not believing the pink ranger. "I didn't think Ashley was afraid of anything."  
  
"Does anyone know why?" Karone questioned the other rangers. "She never even told me why." Andros said to his sister as he pushed his food around his plate.  
  
"She's going to be fine Andros. You got to believe that." Cassie said, reaching out to touch his arm in reassurance.  
  
"What about Carlos?" TJ inquired. "I have never seen him like that before."  
  
"It was scary wasn't it?" Cassie asked to no one in particular. The group ate in silence, worried about their teammates. Just then they were startled by two loud screams.  
  
"CARLOS!" yelled Ashley. "Ashley?" Andros wondered as he got up from his seat and headed back to the med bay. Her scream was followed by Carlos's, "NO ASHLEY!" His scream prompted the other rangers to chase after Andros and pile into the med bay.  
  
The two sedated rangers were coming out of unconsciousness and were thrashing violently in their beds. The heating blanket was off of Ashley's body as Andros piled it back on her and held her down, and TJ grabbed Carlos's arms and held him down as well.  
  
Cassie looked perplexed at Zhane and Karone, as Ashley and Carlos continued to cry out. "Ashley, hang on!" hollered Carlos in his half-conscious state, his arms straining against TJ's hands to reach for something.  
  
"Don't let me die, Carlos!" Ashley yelled as tears fell freely down her cheeks. Andros was shocked by her words but tried to soothe the brown haired girl. "Shh Ash. You're ok now. Come on, wake up." He whispered, smoothing the hair out of her face, and willing her to wake up.  
  
Carlos woke up to see TJ standing over him. "Ashley?" He said looking around the room and only relaxing when TJ pointed to her in the other bed. But his relief was short lived when he saw her reaching out and calling for him. Understanding hit him as he sat up and got out of bed.  
  
"Carlos, what are you doing?" TJ demanded, trying to sit Carlos back down, but the black ranger refused to be kept from his best friend any longer. "I can help her TJ. Let me go." Carlos insisted. Reluctantly, TJ released Carlos and he grabbed Ashley from Andros, who willingly let him take her.  
  
"Ash, it's me Carlos. Come back to me." His words released Ashley from her state of shock. "Carlos?" she stammered as she stopped tossing about. She opened her eyes to see her best friend sitting there. "Carlos!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around the black ranger. tears filling both their eyes. The other rangers stood back, confused as to what the scene really meant. "Don't you ever do that to me again, you hear me!" Carlos said in mock anger as he hugged her hard in return. "Believe me, I don't plan on it." She mumbled. She looked past him to where the other rangers were waiting for an explanation. Carlos seeing her expression turned to the others, "Guys, can you give us a few minutes? We'll explain everything I promise." The others nodded and left the room to give the pair time to compose themselves.  
  
"I hate that nightmare!" Ashley declared vehemently, as shivers traveled through her body.  
  
"Yeah, me too. That could have been the worst day of my life." Carlos said. "I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you then or today Ash." HE stated seriously, taking her hand into his as he stood over her bed.  
  
"It's been years since I've had that dream." Ashley commented. "Me too, but when I saw you jump off that cliff I totally freaked out." Carlos replied. "IT brought back so many memories." He whispered with a shudder.  
  
"You said the same words today that you said to me at the lake. You said, 'come back to me.'" Ashley whispered.  
  
"I know, it's the only thing that wakes you up from that nightmare." Carlos answered. "Are you ready?" He asked gently. "They need to know." Ashley agreed as she allowed Carlos to help her off the bed.  
  
"Ow! I'm so sore." She complained as she moved her body. "Right, then we'll take the shortcut." Carlos decided, teleporting them out in a swirl of black.  
  
Andros looked up as Carlos and Ashley teleported into the recreation room. Carlos escorted Ashley to the couch and they sat down to face their teammates.  
  
"There's something we need to tell you guys." Ashley began quietly, afraid to look at anyone.  
  
"Ash, there's nothing you can't tell us. You don't have to be ashamed." Zhane said soothingly. "I'm not ashamed Zhane. I'm terrified. Carlos is the only person outside of my family who knows." Ashley responded.  
  
"How does Carlos know?" Cassie questioned, a bit in shock by the somber expressions on the normally cheerful black and yellow rangers.  
  
"Because I was there." Carlos supplied. His answer surprised the other rangers. "Where?" TJ inquired, clearly confused.  
  
"Go on." Andros encouraged them. "Well you know how I hate water?" Ashley asked rhetorically. Everyone nodded. Ashley's fear of water was almost legendary.  
  
"How could I forget?" TJ groaned as he rolled his eyes. "This sounds like a story." Zhane declared, jumping in. Reluctantly, TJ retold the story.  
  
"It was our first day off after we became Turbo Rangers. And we all decided to go to the lake to relax. Even some of the old rangers came to hang out. Well, Ashley was the only one not in the water. And she wouldn't' tell us why. I just thought, you know she didn't want to ruin her hair." Andros had to laugh at that statement. "So, me and Tommy came out of the water and crept up on her as she was taking a nap. I grabbed Ash's hands and Tommy grabbed her legs and we started walking towards the water's edge. And she started freaking out and panicked. She was fighting us the whole way."  
  
"And boys being boys didn't think she was serious." Cassie added, giving TJ an evil glare.  
  
"Hey, we thought she was being funny you know?" He said in his defense. "So anyway, we put her down when she started screaming. And she punched me. So don't get on her bad side, she has a mean right hook. My eye was swollen for two days." TJ advised. Zhane laughed as he imagined Ashley actually punching TJ.  
  
"I laughed at first but then I saw her crying hysterically. Carlos was the only one who could comfort her." TJ said more seriously. "When Tommy and I tried to apologize to her, she ran away."  
  
"But Carlos didn't." Cassie said. "Yeah, Carlos yelled at me. 'You think this is funny! She was screaming at you to stop! Do you know what you've done?'" TJ finished up.  
  
"That's one of the few times I've ever seen Carlos so angry." Cassie supplied, looking to the black ranger.  
  
"Ok, so back to Ashley." Andros commanded. "Why do you hate the water?" He asked tenderly. Ashley paused for a moment. "When I was ten years old I almost drowned. "Ashley stated softly.  
  
"She almost died." Carlos interjected somberly, putting his arm around his best friend. Ashley continued, "Our school had taken the fourth through sixth grade classes out to Angel Grove Lake for a picnic. And so a bunch of us went canoeing. My brother Jeff was 12 and in sixth grade at the time, and we hated each other."  
  
"You and Jeff?" Cassie said in surprise. "But you guys are so close!" She declared. "We became extremely close after that day." Ashley replied.  
  
"What happened?" Karone asked as she leaned forward to catch the rest of the story. Taking a deep breath, Ashley explained.  
  
"Jeff and his friend Chris paddled over to us, Carlos and I were in the same canoe, and he started splashing me. I screamed at him to stop and leave us alone, but he kept on. He got close enough to knock my oar out of my hand and as I bent over to retrieve it." Ashley stopped as the tears started spilling out her eyes.  
  
"She fell out of the canoe." Carlos finished. "I tried to grab her hand, but she got pulled under the water. She came up screaming, 'Don't let me die Carlos!' You can imagine my fear when she said that. We've always been best friends." Carlos managed to choke out as tears fell from his eyes too.  
  
"Oh man." Was all TJ could say as everyone sat spellbound by their tale. "I yelled for her to hang on but she drifted away from me. I thought for sure she was gone. I mean, we were in the middle of the lake. But her brother got one of the chaperones and he managed to dive under and bring her back to the shore."  
  
"But I wasn't breathing." Ashley added. "But I heard Carlos's voice and he told me, 'Come back to me.'" "And she did." Carlos replied. "Thank God." "I haven't gone in the water since then. Until today." Ashley whispered. "I had so many nightmares after that day. Carlos too." "You too Carlos?" Andros asked in surprise.  
  
"It was bad, we were only ten years old." Carlos exclaimed. "Ash and I used to sleep over each others houses all the time but after we started reliving that day in our sleep and having nightmares together, our parent's wouldn't let us stay at each other's houses anymore. We would keep waking up screaming. They were terrified."  
  
"And that's why Carlos is at one end of the hallway and I'm at the other", supplied Ashley. "I was afraid to even take a bath for two years after that." The yellow ranger acknowledged softly.  
  
"And that's why I freaked out on the bridge, I knew Ashley hadn't been in the water since that day." Carlos explained.  
  
"Where did you get the courage to jump right off that cliff?" Karone asked in amazement.  
  
"After the boating incident I was afraid to try anything. But when I was in junior high, my dance teacher encouraged me to try out for cheerleading. I was terrified to try any of the flips, but she told me that I wouldn't make the team if I couldn't do them. She also said if you want something bad enough, you have to take a risk." Ashley enlightened her teammates.  
  
"And I'm guessing you learned how to do those flips." Zhane commented understandingly. "Yeah, she hasn't stopped flipping since." Carlos declared with a laugh, breaking the calm of the room as they all started laughing. The long day soon caught up with them and the seven rangers headed off to bed for a good night's rest.  
  
A/N: I hope you liked it; it was one of my first fan fictions I ever wrote. I will try to continue on with the series, it may take awhile though. But here's something to ask: what PRIS character should I do next? Let me know. After Pris I will take any other suggestions you may have. 


End file.
